Into the Spider's Web
by Alexpv22
Summary: (Takes place before Surviving the Spiderbites) We know Penelope and Slime are a couple now. But HOW did this come about, you might ask? Sit back and listen as Slime regales the tale of his and Penelope's budding relationship. Where the big question is...how will her parents react


Into the Spider's Web

(Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or situations from Star vs. the Forces of Evil. They are under the full ownership of Daron Nefcy and Disney. So...please, don't sue me)

(Slime's POV)

On the day we met; things seemed rather...awkward (for lack of a better word,) at first. But in spite of almost being captured by some crazed warrior, both the Mewmans _and_ monster sides arguing and some of us having to leave Mewni for a period (due to some freak called Meteora;) I still thought about her. But...I'm getting a head of myself, I guess; let me start from the beginning.

My name's Slime but my friends and sometimes, my parents call me Sly. I'm just a young monster, living in a small community of other slime folk in the swamps near the water kingdom. My family and I do our best to keep to ourselves.

But when you live in a world where the near vast majority of people want you either gone or...worse, life gets hard. Thing is, I may be a monster...but I'm not a bad guy. I like listening to soft music, star-gazing and poetry.

You could say that I don't have a mean bone in my body. But the truth is...I don't have _any_ bones in my body. Corny jokes aside; unlike some monsters, I actually like Mewmans...but not like how _you_ might be thinking. I don't eat red meat at all; what I really love is some nice, freshly cooked corn.

I mean, have you ever tried this thing they call cornbread; it tastes unreal. Sadly; due to Mewmans not trusting us monsters that much, they are heavily protective of their corn crops. So; for food, I simply make due with forest plants and maybe, some fish.

But no matter what, none of it will taste half as good as corn does. That's when I met her; Star Butterfly, the famous "rebel princess" daughter of King River and Queen Moon. She is so unlike the rest of her family, to be honest.

She's wild, unpredictable and loves to have a good time in the most incredible ways possible. I first heard about her name among my peers within the monster teen circles. At first, I thought she was some sort of a myth.

I mean...a girl who could summon a stampede of warnicorns with a wand? Look me in the eye and tell me that doesn't seem too crazy to be true. But then; one afternoon, I got the chance to see her in action..._and she was awesome!_

To make a long story short, three of my pals and I wanted to explore the village outside of Butterfly Castle. Naturally, the people there didn't quite welcome us with open arms. At one point; this thug, one that looked like one of those mercenary dudes, grabbed hold of one of my pals and threatened to pluck each feather from her wings.

That's when Star flew in on her fluffy pink...cloud thing and dive-bombed the guy from above! The look on the guy's face was so good, one of us snapped a pic of it with our phones. She defeated him, in the end and my friend was safe.

From then on, we were fans of Star's till the very end. Then, we heard whispers from people saying she had been trying to bring my kind and Mewmans...together. To say that the idea surprised me would be a _huge_ understatement.

But despite Star's intentions, many of us weren't quite sold on the idea of coexisting "peacefully" with Mewmans. A few generations of being chased with swords, torches and sharp farm tools will do that to you. But then, something happened that would change my life forever.

When Princess Star invited me and my friends to a party at the Ancient Monster Temple, long ago; I was pretty excited. I mean...for real; who's gonna say no to going to a party, right? But then, we met with the Mewman teens and...things got rather tense.

It wasn't until Prince Rock Johansen stepped forward and complimented the style of one of my friends' jeans that the air finally cleared up. We all mingled, shared some food and even danced to this weird "Sword Hand Dance" someone from earth named Marco came up with. Then, while everyone else was dancing; I met...her.

Dressed in her leafy green dress and small bark crown, Princess Penelope Spiderbite from the Forest of Unlikely Spider Bites was standing all by her lonesome at the side of the room. Like a nervous goof, I approached her and asked if she'd like to dance; only to accidentally dribble slime from my hand. I remember how she recoiled from me, asking me "does that actually work on girls?"

In my head, I presumed she was referring to my slime; which _does_ work on girls, boys, adults even bites that gremlins might have. You see, the slime from my body and that of my people works the same way as Aloe Vera...but much faster. When I told Penelope that I wanted to help cure her irritated spider bite, she asked for some of my slime without any hesitation.

The moment Penelope placed a handful of my slime atop her spider bite, it faded away in the blink of an eye. When she looked me in the eye and said I was "amazing..." well, my heart went a-flutter (yes, we Slimes _do_ have hearts.) After that, I tried to "play it cool" by leaning against the wall; all smooth-like.

Then, all of a sudden; the wall crumbles behind me and I stumble down a flight of stairs. At the top, Penelope slipped on my slime while trying to see if I was alright and stumbled down after me. She...uh, fell on top of me; moments later but I didn't get hurt.

You'd be surprised how much that kind of thing happens to me and my friends. When we came to, Penelope and I saw a bunch of these weird statues down in this room. At first, we were casually chatting about how weird the statues looked and all was going smoothly.

Then, something lashed out at us and then...the next thing I knew, I was holed up in a closet with my pals. Turns out; some crazy girl named Mina Loveberry had been capturing each of us; believing we were some sort of "evil monster army." If you ask me, that girl was one corn kernel short of a full cob.

Then, the headmistress of St. Olga's storms the place and tries to hurt Marco. Long story short, there was a _lot_ of damage...and the royal guards that came to help (unsurprisingly) pinned the blame on us monster teens. Star tried to defend us but nobody listened to her.

Before things got too tense between everyone; my pals and I decided to head off for home, after the Temple got closed off. Before heading off; I looked over my shoulder and saw Penelope, wrapped up in a security blanket and sipping on some hot chocolate. I wanted to call out to her, tell her it was nice meeting her.

But with things being so tense, I didn't want to risk doing anything wrong. That was the last time, for a long time that I saw her. In the months that followed that party, things got even tenser between monsters and Mewmans. It also didn't help that a former queen, Eclipsa Butterfly, was not only put on trial.

But it turns out Miss Heinous is actually her daughter and her real name was Meteora. I tell ya, I've seen some crazy stuff...but all this stole the show. Regardless; relations between us monsters and Mewmans grew so tense, many decided to leave the dimension completely.

Many of my friends were among those that decided to leave...but not me. I stayed behind, as did the rest of my family. My parents chose to do this because they had been with the swamps for generations and didn't want to leave so many memories behind.

My pop told me we could simply blend in (literally) with the muck and lay low, until things blew over. As for me, I had my own reasons for staying in Mewni. But part of me doubted if...a certain someone still remembered me at all.

At one point, Meteora managed to destroy much of Star's castle and tried to do the same with her and her people as well. But then, Eclipsa intervened and managed to not only hold her own against her daughter...but defeat her as well. From what I've heard from people; after that, Star just handed her kingdom and her wand over to Eclipsa.

In time, things began to change little by little in the kingdom. With Eclipsa in charge, she was going to strive towards bringing Monsters and Mewmans together; just as Star did. I was brought to the little village being built outside of the Monster Temple, I was nervous...yet excited (nervicited Star called it.)

Things started out rather well for all of us monsters, including me. I received a new house in this village, got a job at retrieving and bringing straw to the new queen and I was surrounded by many familiar and friendly faces. Yet, as the days passed by; all I could seem to think about was Penny.

I gasped with surprise, the moment the thought popped up in my head. Why did I just call her that, we weren't even that close of friends to start calling each other by pet names. So, why...why was I starting to think about her so much?

Feeling confused, I decided to pay a visit to the queen; who appeared to be at work in revamping the temple's image. I waited in the main hall for her to finish, for the next few minutes or so. Finally, she came flying in overhead with her wand/parasol thing in hand and landed in front of me.

"Oh! Hello there, my dear" she greeted me in a sweet tone, "what brings you to my home?" I tried to tell her...but every time I did, I kept letting out yipping noises; like some kind of puppy. She presumed I was thirsty and offered me a beverage.

Yet again, a Mewnian royal was showing me kindness. I _was_ happy about this, make no mistake. But I wondered why no one else in the royal family treated my kind like this.

After clearing my throat with the drink, I looked Eclipsa in the eye and told her my story. By the end of it all, I began to describe how often I had been thinking about Penelope and how things ended so badly for us at the ball. When I was finished, Eclipsa was looking at me with a weird smile on her face.

"My dear child, I think it's quite obvious why you're feeling like this" she said with a squeal, "you're in love with the princess!" Her words hit me so hard, I almost slipped over my own slimy feet. _"That can't be true"_ I thought to myself, _"she's a Mewman, I'm a monster and we're supposed to hate each other...right?"_

I looked Eclipsa in the eye and asked her if she was certain with her assumption. "Believe me, dear; you aren't the first person I've met with relationship troubles" she stated, "the former Princess/Queen Star, for example is still dealing with _hers_." Upon hearing this, I just stared at her in confusion; wondering how could Star be having boy problems herself?

She and Prince Lucitor seemed rather close...but then, she seemed drawn to that Marco guy. So, perhaps; Eclipsa was right...but I wasn't convinced with her assumptions about _me_. Sure; Penelope was nice, friendly and once her spider bite cleared up, she looked rather cute.

The moment that last thought crossed my mind, I froze. Did I seriously just think Penelope looked _cute?!_ Before I could react, Eclipsa took notice of my shocked expression and the blush forming on my face. "I knew it, you truly do have the tell-tale signs of love blooming in your heart" she surmised, "it's rather adorable, actually.

I suddenly began pacing around in circles, smacking my hands against my head in mild frustration. That was when Eclipsa held out her parasol sideways and blocked my path, causing me to stop. "Whatever is the matter, dear" she asked me with concern, "surely you must feel the same for Princess Penelope."

I tried many times to think of some form of retort to her words. But every time I did, I'd keep looking back to when she and I met. Things may have been awkward between us, back then; sure. But up until the end, we had fun together.

So, maybe...just maybe; the queen may have been right. Maybe I _did_ feel some sort of feelings for her growing. But deep down, I knew it wouldn't work out. I mean...half of the kingdoms of Mewni hate monsters like me and the idea of a monster being romantically involved with a Mewman felt...unheard of.

Somehow, it seemed Eclipsa could sense what I was thinking and decided to share a secret with me. "In my day, I was in a situation much like yours" she explained, "you see...I was forced to marry a Mewman king but instead, I fell in love with a monster." This confession took me off guard and I asked if their love was ever accepted.

With a sad sigh, the queen told me her story ended rather unhappily ever after. That was the best way she could describe her lover being crystallized by Rhombulus of the High Commission. "The important lesson here is...even though things ended poorly for the both of us, I was happy I took that chance" she said proudly, "if I didn't, I wouldn't look at myself the same way."

Before returning to her palace, Eclipsa urged me to take my own leap of faith and go talk to Penelope. "I cannot promise a positive outcome nor can I promise she will welcome your feelings right away" she said sullenly, "but once you _do_ confess; you'll feel so much better, afterwards." With that, she curtsied at me and retreated back into the temple.

After thinking over her advice for a few minutes, I realized she was right. Maybe I _did_ like Penelope that way or at the very least, I needed to talk things over with her. In the end; whatever the outcome, I hoped we'd both be okay with each other.

With that, I headed off for home and went about making a series of calls. A day or so later, I was traveling with another of my fellow Monster Teens; who agreed to help give me a lift (quite literally.) While in the air, I mentally prepped myself for what I was about to do.

On one hand, I was excited at the idea of seeing Penny again and hoped we'd have the chance to talk. But...on the other hand, I began to think things wouldn't be that easy. Sure, _Penelope_ might not have a lot of biases towards monsters anymore...but what about the rest of her people?

For that matter, what will her _parents_ say about us hanging out together; let alone dating? Before I knew it, I started fretting so much about everything that beads of my slime began to drip off my face like sweat. When my friend saw how nervous I was, she urged me to keep my cool.

"Everything will be fine" she said with a chirp, "just pretend you're chatting with one of your pals, when you see her." I tried to take her words to heart...but the thought of humiliating myself or getting captured by the Spider Bite Royal Guard still tormented me. Finally, we reached our destination; The Forest of Unlikely Spider Bites.

As its name implied; every branch, limb, stump and leaf of the forest was almost completely covered in webbing. Despite not having skin or muscle mass, I still shuddered at the idea of being caught by one of the spiders' webs. At first, I began to feel a little nervous about everything around me.

But then, I remember a saying mentioned by some of the Mewmans...or was it that Marco guy; "looks can be deceiving." I didn't think much of it, at first. But then; I later realized that much of the time, other people seem to fear some of us monsters just because of how we looked (which is...kinda stupid.)

But underneath our slime, scales, fangs, weird bodies or whatever else; some of us aren't that bad. With that in mind, I began to think the same thing about this forest. Surely, it couldn't be as creepy and bad as I thought.

Just then, I heard the sounds of loud rushing noises from nearby. At first; I thought it was a team of guards on horseback, riding down my way. But when I looked up and down the path, I didn't see anyone.

Not a moment sooner, I discovered that the sounds were coming from somewhere deep in the forest. Throwing caution into the wind, I pushed my way through the webs and the thicket; following the noise. It grew louder and louder, the further I went in.

When I got through, I gasped at a truly beautiful sight. Ahead of me was a long, crystal clear river; cutting through the land. It went on for a mile or so, until it fell over the edge of a cliff into a waterfall. I've never seen such a thing in the swamps...it was breathtaking.

After gazing at the water for a bit, I followed it up stream until I came upon what looked like a village. It was almost like the one Eclipsa built around the Monster Temple...except for all the webs that lightly covered all the buildings. In spite of this, it all actually looked rather homey.

As I was about to head into the village, I suddenly stopped myself; thinking just waltzing in wasn't the best plan. Many of the kingdoms were already either heavily against Eclipsa's All Monster Inclusion policies throughout her own village. Others meanwhile seemed "indifferent" about it; like that Pony-Head chick.

Needless to say, I had to be stealthy while trying to find Penny. So, I grabbed a bunch of leaves and bramble and proceeded to stick it onto my body. Then, I crept my way behind all the buildings; only occasionally stopping to appear like a tree covered in muck.

For about twenty minutes, I tiptoed through the village while wearing this disguise; only stopping whenever mewmans were passing by my way. After a while, I started to get tired from walking and started to think I would never find Penny anywhere. Then, just as I was thinking of throwing in the towel; I heard something.

From where I stood, I could've sworn I heard a girl singing somewhere. It was soft, almost like a bird's twittering or the faint whisper of the wind. But it was the most beautiful voice I have ever heard

I continued to sneak and hide around for another mile or two and then, I found her. Princess Penelope was sitting on the rim of a large fountain, softly humming while absentmindedly throwing flowers into the water. Though her voice _was_ sweet to my almost non-existent ears, it sounded rather...sad.

But what was she sad about, exactly; that's what I hoped to learn. I just needed to figure out a way to get close to her without rousing any suspicion. After making sure my disguise was still in place, I crept over towards Penny's direction.

While walking, I took a moment to look for any place I could blend into without standing out too much. That's I spotted a flower garden to the left of the fountain. With a soft chuckle, a sneaked my way over and carefully placed myself inside one of the bushes.

Unfortunately for me, it turned out to be a rose bush. To be clear, the thorns didn't hurt me like they would other monsters. But if someone found dollops of my slime stuck to the thorns, they'd know I was here. Yet, at the same time; I couldn't just wipe it away either (it'd only make things worse.)

My only option was to call out to Penny as loudly as I could and bring her over to me. Then, I'd take us to a less crowded spot to talk to her. But I knew that getting her attention wouldn't be very easy.

At first, I tried making animal noises; like a bird's call or a cat mewing. But she didn't hear me. Then, I tried waving my arms and calling out her name in loud whispers...but _still_, no luck. I gave a soft yet dejected sigh, considering in giving up.

That's when I noticed something about the princess. Every so often, I saw her scratching at her head. At first, I thought she might've been lost in thought about something. As I craned my neck to the side, I saw something on her head.

It was a large, red and heavily swollen spider bite; thankfully, it wasn't infected. Upon seeing this, I remembered how she sported a similar bite on the night we met. That's when I got just the idea needed to get her attention.

But before I could do anything, I suddenly heard voices and crowds of people began to swarm the square. My only option, at the moment was to remain silent and still for as long as possible. But I didn't realize how long I would have to wait for them to pass; which unfortunately, turned out to be almost a half hour.

Finally, the crowds dispersed and it was just me and Penny alone again. But then, I saw her slowly standing up from the fountain. After she tossed the last of her flowers into the water; she gazed at her reflection, sighed and prepared to leave.

But as she headed off for home, Penny scratched at her bite again; muttering bitterly about how much it itched. That's when I knew it was time to make my move. With the greatest of care, I plucked off a clump of my slime and threw it as far as I could.

I heard Penny give a startled yelp, as the slime landed inches away from her with a "splat." Then, she cautiously approached it and stared at the goop intently. "This slime" I heard her murmur, before picking it up; "why do I feel like I've seen it before?"

After she studied my slime more closely, Penny suddenly gasped; the truth finally becoming clear to her. Then, she placed the slime atop her spider bite and it instantly vanished; just as it did before. The moment it happened, she began looking around the whole square; hoping to find me.

That's when I started waving my arms at her and whispering "over here, Princess." As weird as it sounds; the moment she saw me, Penny suddenly...smiled at me. Then, she looked side-to-side; hoping the coast was clear and gestured for me to follow her.

I hurried after her as quickly as I could until I was led to an old, rundown building on the edge of the village. At first, I wondered why Penny would lead me _here_ of all places. But that's when I realized that because the place was abandoned, no one would know we were there.

Man...Penny's as smart as she is pretty, I tell ya. Anyway; with hope burning in my heart, I entered the building and began looking for the princess. But the moment I passed through the door, I suddenly felt her hand clutch at my arm.

I turned to the side to find her glaring softly at me. "What are you doing here" she asked me, "don't you know it's risky for someone like you to just waltz into another kingdom?!" Despite her voice trying to sound firm, I detected a sliver of happiness in it as well.

I chuckled slightly and told her it was good to see her too. Somehow, this response appealed to her and she did something I never would've expected...she hugged me. Sure; she got heavily coated in my slime, as a result but she didn't seem to care.

In an instant, Penny realized her actions and quickly pulled away. Even with some bits of my slime on her face, I could see she was blushing. "Er...sorry about that" she murmured shyly, "I just...it's, uh...nice to see you."

I blushed softly and greeted her in a similar fashion. Then, I quickly apologized for getting her clothes messy. "Ah, don't worry about it" she dismissed with a chuckle, "as you saw, a little slime doesn't bother me." Neither of us had spoken a word, after that; for a good two minutes...all was silent.

Then; when we finally _did _talk, we suddenly started speaking in unison. After a while, I encouraged Penny to speak first; trying to be gentlemanly about it. But she giggled and insisted I go first, instead.

We went back and forth like this, for a few seconds; until Penny decided to speak first. "Well...it's just...it's really nice to see you again" she murmured shyly, "I honestly thought you'd left Mewni months ago." I gave her a gentle grin, happy that she still remembered me.

"Yeah...well, my family is a stubborn lot" I chuckled, "we figured nobody would bug us much, so long as we stayed in the swamp." The moment I said this, she suddenly asked me why I came into her kingdom. "I mean...I don't mean to pry" she stated, "but why risk your safety in coming here...what is it you hope to find?"

That did it, that one question caused me to freeze like a stone statue in my seat. On the inside, my heart and head were locked in a fierce debate. One side was telling me to spit out my feelings right there.  
The other side however, told me to just clam up and walk away. I must've spaced out or something because I was suddenly jerked back into reality, when I felt Penny's hand on my shoulder. "I can tell you're stressing, Slime" she said sweetly, "talk to me, I want to help you."

That statement only made things harder for me. I wanted nothing more than for her to help me. But that would mean fessing up my secret...and I dreaded the thought about her reacting negatively. While still being slightly aloof, I did my best to talk to her.

"The truth is, Penn...I mean, Penelope...is that I _do_ have something on my mind" I confessed, "but I don't know how to tell you." She gives me a sympathetic look with those gorgeous eyes of hers and told me to simply take calm breaths, to start things off. I did just that, for about seven seconds and I began to feel much better.

"Now, just take your time and tell me what's on your mind as best as you can" she stated, "I promise to listen to every word." I took one last look at her eyes and then, everything became clear to me. I was now confident enough to tell her my secret.

"The thing is, Princess...I didn't leave because something kept me wanting to stay here" I confessed, "or rather...it was _someone_ who kept me here." Penny raised an eyebrow at me and asked who it was that inspired me to stay? "It's not Eclipsa, right" she suggested, "that lady is 400,000 miles of bumpy and bad road."

With a chuckle, I shook my head and assured her that the new "queen" wasn't what kept me in Mewni. Then, she suggested Star and her Monster-Mewman Unification idea. But I told her that Star was only a small piece of the puzzle.

The moment she ran out of guesses, Penny asked me with a giggle to tell her the answer. I smiled at her and instead of saying anything, I simply took her hand in mine and smiled at her. I'm unsure if it was my smile or me holding her hand that did it.

But once it happened, Penny suddenly...blushed at me and I started blushing as well. I guess we were sitting like that for a few minutes, before our minds snapped back to reality and she turned away. "What's wrong, Your Highness" I asked with concern, "if I did something wrong...I'm sorry."

She slowly looked back at me and gave me a soft shake of the head, assuring me I did nothing wrong. "It's not you, Slime" she murmured, "the truth is I'm really happy you're here." I was so shocked by this statement, I started digging my finger into my ears; hoping I heard right.

But unfortunately, all that seemed to do was put _more_ slime in them. "Are you serious" I asked suddenly, "why would you want to talk to me...figured you'd never wanted to see me again, after what happened." For some odd reason, this caused Penny to laugh out loud.

"Slime, what happened at that Star's Monster Ball wasn't your fault" she assured me, "you helped cure my spider bite, we talked a little and I may have slipped on your slime...but you never tried to hurt me." I chuckled softly at her, slightly surprised that she still remembered that party. That's when I suddenly got a crazy idea.  
As I tried addressing her "properly" (or so I've been told by my parents,) she suddenly stopped me; urging me to call her Penelope. "Okay...uh, Penelope" I murmured with a blush, "I wanted to...I kinda, sorta have a bit of a request." Penny giggled softly at my attempts at being proper and asked me what I wanted from her.

"Well, you know; back at the party, I never...I-I ne-never..." My brain was screeching at me, the more I failed to talk. This was my chance to hang with Penny, after so long and I wasn't going to miss out on it. After taking a moment to clear my throat, I finally asked her if she'd dance with me.

The moment those words left my lips, however; she just stared at me like I grew an extra head. Realizing that I might've said something really, _really _dumb; I apologized to her, said my goodbyes and prepared to leave. But before I reached the doorway, she quickly grabbed hold of my arm; spreading slime all over her glove.

"Don't leave yet, Slime" she murmured, "I didn't give you my answer yet." Curious, I turned myself around and waited to hear more. Then, she started twiddling her fingers in a really adorable way; like she was nervous or something. After some silence, Penny reached behind her and brought out a compact mirror.

At first, I thought she was planning on calling her parents or a friend; which meant I would be busted. But instead, she simply pressed a button and placed it atop of an old table. Then, I suddenly heard it playing some sort of a pop song.

I recognized it as something that group Love Sentence played. I've heard Star playing it on her compact mirror relentlessly, back at the Monster Temple Village. As the music began to play, I suddenly realized what I had to do. With a shy cough, a nervous bow and a furious blush creeping onto my face; I held out my hand and asked Penny to dance with me.

With a soft chuckle, she curtsied elegantly my way and I took her by the hand. As the music began to play, we started to dance slowly. During that time, I actually got a good look at her.

Now, us monsters never really care about how a Mewman looks. But dancing this close to Penny allowed me to really see how pretty she was. From her long, soft brown hair, her beautiful green eyes (which almost looked like jewels,) the little spider necklace she wore around her neck.

She truly looked like the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life...you know, for a Mewman. Soon, the tempo started to kick in and we began to dance faster.

_It was no secret The way that we feel_

_A love that's so pure A love that's so real _

_You showed me your world And it felt like a sign _

_But you acted too slow And you ran out of ti-i-ime _

_And now we'll be just friends _

_We will be just friends _

_And now we'll be just friends _

_Be just friends _

_I didn't mean to hurt you _

_You didn't have a clue _

_So you went out and got busy _

_And found somebody new, new, new _

_And now we'll be just friends _

_Oh, we will be just friends_

_And now we'll be just friends Be just friends _

_And now we'll be...Just Friends_

_Be ju-u-u-ust frie-e-e-ends_

_[guitar solo] _

As the solo kicked in, Penny suddenly threw herself into my arms and held me close. This caused my heart to pound harder and faster than the bass of the music. Kinda ironic that a song called "Just Friends" would be stirring such strong feelings in both of us.

Then, we started gliding effortlessly across the floor; laughing giddily to the music. It was in that moment that I realized...I truly _did _love the princess.

_I didn't mean to hurt you _

_You didn't have a clue _

_So you went out and got busy _

_And found somebody new, new, new _

_And now we'll be just friends, we will be Just friends_

_And now we'll be... Just friends_

_Be Just friends_

When this part of the song kicked in, we quickly slipped into a slow dance. This allowed us time to simply look deep into each other's eyes. I tell ya, I haven't felt so happy and free in a long time and something told me Penny felt the same.

As the song slowly came to an end, Penny rested her head with a blissful sigh upon my shoulder.

_Oooh-oooh Oooh-oooh Oooh-oooh be Just friends_...

Once the song ended, the compact mirror stopped the music player and closed shut...but we didn't notice. Even with the room being so quiet, we still kept dancing and holding each other. Then, Penny moved her head away from my shoulder and looked me in the eyes.

"Hard to believe I missed out on something like this, way back when" she sighed blissfully, "we should do it more often." I blushed hard at the suggestion but happily accepted...after I stopped laughing like a goof a minute later. Just then, she suddenly let out a loud gasp and rushed for her mirror.

After finding what she needed, all the color suddenly drained from Penny's face. "Oh, corn fritters" she groaned fearfully, "it's almost dinner time; my dad is a stickler for punctuality and will flip, if I'm not home in time!" I understood her problem and offered to help escort her home.

At first, she was thinking of deciding against it; fearing for both our safety. But then, she accepted my help; on the condition that we'd stay away from the streets. With that, Penny collected her mirror and we raced out of the old building.

With the streets not being an option, we decided to take a shortcut through the woods. Little did I suspect that this would put an unforeseen hurtle in our way. At the start, everything seemed to be going smoothly the path we took brought us through a rather...beautiful part of the woods.

The leaves weren't quite so covered in webs, the sounds of birds singing filled the air and a lot of the flowers smelled beautiful. At one point, I heard Penny say that we were getting close to the royal gardens. "We're almost there, Slime" she said happily, "maybe I'll get to dinner on time after all."

My mind was far too distracted to hear her anymore; in moments, she'll be home and I might not see her again for...who knows how long. So, I wanted to give her something to remember me by. Looking around, I began searching for the nicest of flowers to make a...what was the word, boo-kay or something (I wasn't sure.)

While I was picking, I was unaware of something that was creeping along; deep within the thicket. At first, all I could hear was rustling but I shrugged it off as it just being the wind. Finally, I collected what I thought were the prettiest flowers in the forest.

Some red ones, some yellow ones, some blue ones and one or two of these awesome looking purple flowers. With them in hand, I made my way after Penny. In time, we've reached the outskirts of the Spiderbite Castle Gardens.

"We've made it" Penny cheered, "thanks so much for helping me get home safe." Before I could offer up a reply, she suddenly threw herself into my arms and squeezed me. In less than a few seconds, she suddenly realized her actions and pulled away from me; blushing red as a beet.

"Er...thanks again for helping me get home, Slime" she murmured in a shy yet grateful tone, "you really are a good guy." I chuckled sheepishly at her comment and assured her it was nothing _that_ special. That was when she noticed me hiding my hands behind my back.

"What do you have in your hands, Slime" she prodded, "you're hiding something from me, aren't you." With a giggle, I told her I had no idea what she was talking about...but she wasn't fooled. "C'mon, Slime; give it to me" she demanded, "hand over whatever you're hiding before the guards see us."

With a soft smile, I turned my head away bashfully and revealed my flowers. She gasped softly in both surprise and awe, not expecting this sort of gesture. Penny then asked me what they were for.

"Well...I'm not sure if we'll see each other again, after this" I said matter-of-factly, "so, I thought...I thought I'd give you something to remember me." In that instant; Penny's face shifted from surprised to amused and straight up to flattered all in a matter of seconds. She took a moment to smell the flowers slightly and then, looked at me with the most beautiful gaze.

"This is really sweet of you, Slime" she murmured happily, "thank you so much." I smiled brightly at her, took off my beanie cap and bowed graciously. Then, I suddenly realized that it was now or never to tell her.

After taking a moment to find my voice, I finally spoke. "Listen, Penny...before we part ways, I need to tell you something" he mumbled, "and it's not gonna be easy for me to say it." Curious she took a seat on a large stone and urged me to continue.

Without a single second of hesitation; I got down on one knee, held onto her hands and gazed deeply into her eyes. "Penny, I know we don't know each other well" I began, "for that matter, we've not known each other for very long." I suddenly found myself slipping into a nervous ramble; breaking out into sweat, as a result.

Then, she rested a hand on my shoulder and asked me to try and take a calm breath. I did just as I was told and made another attempt to tell her my thoughts. "Thing is, Penny...I couldn't stop thinking about you, since we first met" I explained, "I don't know why...but the kindness and friendship you showed me, that night was wonderful."

She simply gave a shrug and told me she did nothing special. But I told her that after enduring sixteen years of hateful slurs, mean comments and mild cruelty; her kindness meant the world, to me. "Truth is, Penny...no one else in my life has ever made me feel like this before" I stated, "I guess you could say that I...I low...lo..."

Suddenly, we heard a noise that caused me to stop talking. It was a combination of a twig snapping and brush rustling from close by. At first, Penny dismissed it as a squirrel darting through the trees. But to my ears, it sounded like something...heavier was out there.

Presuming it was nothing serious, Penny was about to head back to the palace. Then, a loud shriek suddenly sounded off from the forest; causing her to halt her stride. The moment she turned around to ask what happened, what looked like a string of webbing shot out from the bushes and struck Penny.

These webs began building up around her until she was trapped in a thick cocoon of the stuff. Then, while she kicked and screamed, the strand was suddenly being dragged off into the thicket. At first, I tried to help pull her back but I wasn't strong enough to do so (curse my lack of muscles.)

That's when I came up with a new plan. Thinking quickly, I collected a large branch and a few sharp stones from off the ground. Then, I quickly hurried after Penny; hoping she wasn't dragged too far away. I had only traveled for a few steps when I, at last came face-to-face with the thing that took her.

Looming over me from the top of a large tree was the biggest, ugliest and most savage looking spider you'd ever see. All six of its eyes glowed like jade stones glaring down at me. Its legs were thick as tree branches, its thorax was as large as a hay wagon and steam hissed out of its mouth due to the acidic venom it held inside.

The thing cackled softly, as it placed Penny in the middle of its large web. The only sounds she could make were muffled yelps whenever she saw the creature's venom dripped off its fangs. I wanted to help her but I was paralyzed with fear.

I mean, I may be a monster...but I am most certainly _not _a fighter; in any way. But as Penny's continued to scream muffled cries of terror, I knew I had to take action. While holding the branch in one hand, I hit one of the sharp stones I had in my other one towards the spider.

It saw my attack and spat some of its venom at the stone, melting it away. Nervously, I made another attempt; this time for the web. As I hit the stone with all my might, it flew like a rocket towards the bottom left of the web.

Yet again; I struck out, when the spider slammed one of its feet onto the stone and shattered it. On my third try, I took a few breaths to calm myself and sent it flying. In a fit of annoyed rage, the spider screeched loudly; its mouth open wide as if to strike Penny.

But then, the stone flew straight into the creature's mouth; causing it to violently choke and convulse. While choking, the spider flailed violently around the web until he fell over backwards and broke it. This looked like my chance to save Penny.

Without a moment to waste, I hurried over and was about to use the last of my stones to cut her loose. But then; the spider had somehow, managed to recover from its choking fit and snarled at me. With the speed of a falcon, it raced towards me and knocked me across the way with one of its legs.

The fall didn't faze me too much but I had little time to recover from it. Just as I tried to get back on my feet, my arms were pinned down by some of the spider's webbing. Seeing this, Penny wriggled and rolled around in her cocoon; desperately trying to break free.

Sadly, it was all much too thick for her to even break her gag off. Thus, she could only watch in horror; as the giant spider lowered itself over me. Eventually, I gave up in trying to free myself and prepared to meet my fate.

At the very least, I would take comfort in knowing that I managed to gain a small amount of Penny's friendship. At least _one_ monster was able to do something good towards a Mewman. With that in mind, I closed my eyes and awaited my end.

I suddenly heard Penny's muffled wail, as the creature chomped its teeth over the right side of my torso. Surely, I thought that would be the end of things. But much to my surprise; the moment the spider tasted my slime, it suddenly began to gag loudly.

Then (as disgusting as it sounds,) it hacked it up on top of me and began squealing loudly with pain. After taking a moment to collect myself (literally,) I looked over to see green smoke hissing out of the creature's mouth. After I broke free; I then looked down at my body and in an instant, got an idea.

If my slime was able to counteract the venom in spider bites, it must be poisonous to the spiders themselves. With that in mind; I took a clump of my slime, collected the stick I had earlier and sent the clump flying with a mighty swing. Unable to defend itself, the spider watched as my slime crashed into its face with a "splat."

It wailed loudly with mad screeching, as the slime seemed to burn into each one of the spider's eyes. Finally, with a defeated whimper, it scurried back into the woods; never to be seen again. I took a moment to make sure all my pieces were together and quickly made a beeline for Penny.

With all my previous stones destroyed, I had to find something else to cut her free. That was when I saw a thorn in my body. It must've been wedged in there from when I fled the garden earlier.

With as much care and speed I could give, I began to cut back piece after piece of the web. Sadly, it was much too small to do too much to it. But I was able to cut just enough for Penny to break herself free on her own. The moment she was free, she threw herself into my arms and sobbed loudly.

"Oh, my gosh, Slime" she shouted, "I thought it was the end...I've never felt so scared in my life!" I hushed her soothingly, doing my best to assure her that she was safe. But as she wiped away her tears, Penny told me she was more worried for _my _sake than hers.

"I really thought that thing killed you, Slime" she whispered, "why would you put yourself at risk like that, especially for me?" That was the moment I needed, the chance I was looking for to tell her the truth. But I was far too exhausted to say much of anything.

So, I decided to keep things simple yet still deep. "I'm sorry for worrying you, Penny" I murmured, "but you know, people always do crazy stuff...when they're in love." The moment I said that one word, it felt as though Father Time's time wheel stopped and everything froze.

Neither of us spoke a word, after that...and it kinda worried me. Realizing that I might've said something _incredibly dumb_, I apologized and prepared to leave. But before I could even take two or even one and a half steps, something grabbed my arm.

My mind raced, leading me to think the spider came back to finish me. But then, I was suddenly jerked around and crashed into Penelope's arms in a tight squeeze. After that, before I could say anything; she suddenly kissed me...on the _lips!_

It only lasted for like seven seconds...but in my head, it felt more like seven eons of bliss. When we finally broke apart, we rested our foreheads against together and smiled. "Hey, Slime...I love you too" she suddenly whispered, "I've felt like this since way back when...but didn't think much of it."

I chuckled softly at the coincidental nature of our situation, telling Penny I felt the same way. "When so many of the monsters left, I thought you did too" she stated, "and that would mean we'd never see each other again." I smiled warmly at her, kissed Penny's forehead and told her I wasn't going _anywhere._

That was the start of our beautiful relationship; one that, for the moment, had to be kept hidden from the eyes of the kingdom. During that time, we'd text each other to find opportunities to hang out. Sadly, the Bounce Lounge was shut down and I wasn't sure if the clubs on Earth welcomed us monsters.

So, for the next few months, we hung out in secret; either in my neck of the woods, hers or even in the Monster Temple Village. Whenever she'd come, Penny would always tell her folks that she was going to be with Star...and they believed her. Needless to say; we kept our relationship under wraps, for some time.

Then, one day; while we were at the Mermaid Beach, everything seemed to be going fine. The sun was shining, the skies were clear, the water was fantastic and the merfolk were super chill about us being there together. That's when I saw her looking sadly at the tide, I always hated when she got like that.

After giving her a soft hug, I asked Penny what made her so upset. "Aren't you having a good time today" I asked while offering her a pretty seashell, "I mean...we could always leave, if you want." With a soft giggle, Penny shook her head and assured me it wasn't _me_ or the beach that upset her.

"It's just...I'm fed up, Sly" she said firmly, "why do we have to hide our relationship so much..._I WANT TO TELL THE WORLD, THE UNIVERSE ABOUT US!"_ At that moment, there came the sound of a gruff and disgruntled coughing noise from nearby; one that made Penny freeze stiff as a stone. _"What do you wish to tell the universe about, dear?"_ the voice mumbled, _"please...do tell us."_

As Penny slowly turned around; she gasped when she came face-to-face with her father, mother and several members of the Spider Bite Royal Guard. "Mom...Daddy, uh...what a surprise" she mumbled nervously, "uh...what brings you here today?" While tapping her foot against the sand, Queen Spiderbite reminded her daughter of how she _claimed_ to be going to the Bounce Lounge with Princess Star.

"Imagine my surprise, dear when I call to check up on you...only to discover that the Lounge had been closed for _months_"she stated, "not to mention the fact that Princess Star has been otherwise occupied with handling matters involving her multiple Great Grandmother, Eclipsa!" With so much evidence being stacked against them, the two teens started to grow rather nervous. Then, King Spiderbite looks at me with the coldest of glares and demands to know what is going on.

As I stood there, mumbling and muttering like an idiot; I suddenly felt Penny take me by the hand. I turned in her direction and saw her smiling sweetly at me, which caused _me_ to smile back. Then, she gave both her folks such a fierce stare; she looked as though she was ready for a fight (though, I prayed such a thing wouldn't happen.)

"I don't see if this is any of your business, guys" she shouted, "but I may as well tell you; I love Slime and he loves me, _GOT IT?!"_ The moment those words left her lips, all the color seemed to drain from the faces of Penny's parents and the guards. After a while, King Spiderbite was the first to speak.

"This is outrageous" he roared, "I will not have my daughter gallivanting about with...with a _monster!_" The queen nodded in agreement with her husband and proceeded to try and pull Penny away. "Come along, Penelope" she muttered, "it's time for you to come home!"

As she was being slowly dragged across the shore, I tried to reach out for Penny; perhaps call out to her folks to explain myself. But the guards blocked my path and aimed their weapons threateningly at my body. The moment she saw the fearful look in my eyes, something snapped inside of Penny.

With her teeth clenched tight and her face scarlet with rage. She ripped herself away from her mother with a fierce yell. "I'm not going _anywhere_ with you two" she growled defiantly, "I'm staying here with Slime and we're gonna enjoy our beach day!"

To say that Penny's folks were horrified by her behavior would be the understatement of the century. From the looks I saw on their faces, this was probably one of the few times she defied them. While trying to remain composed, King Spiderbite stared down at her and shook his head.

"My dear, there is being rebellious and then...there is this" he grumbled while gesturing at us. "We need to take you away from him for your own good" the queen added, "you don't know what monsters are like around here." Penny grew even more frustrated, upon hearing this and proclaimed they didn't know her at all.

"If you _did _know me as well as you think, you'd notice that I don't have my spider bite anymore" she screamed while rubbing her head, "it's been gone for months now, yet you didn't seem to care!" The queen stared intently at Penny for a few seconds and gave soft shrug of the shoulders. "Of course we've noticed" she murmured snobbishly, "as for how it was healed; obviously, Princess Star or her mother had a hand in it."

That did it...That statement suddenly pushed me over the edge, leading me to do something _really _stupid. It wasn't really them trying to credit Star for my actions that pushed my buttons. I mean...what kind of friend would I be, if I let something stupid like jealousy cloud my mind.

But something in her tone and her words hurt me deeply. With a fierce war cry and tears in my eyes, I took a chunk of my slime and threw it hard. At this same time, Penny looked over her shoulder to give me one final tearful look.

The moment she saw the slime ball heading for him, Penny tried to warn the king...but he just ignored her. Finally, the ball struck King Spiderbite on the back of the head; causing him to fall face first into the sand. Everyone, including me, gasped in shock and rushed to his side; hoping he was okay.

"Beloved, are you alright" asked the queen, feeling mildly frantic; "please...say something, anything!" Much to her relief, her husband let out a soft moan of reply; indicating he was still conscious. At that moment, her hand touched something moist and looked down to see bits of slime on her husband's face.

When she suddenly realized it was mine, she glared icy daggers at me and her teeth clenched tight with anger. "Guards...put that thing in chains and take him far away from my daughter" she ordered, "we shall punish him, once we've tended to the king." As the knights began to surround me, Penny looked down at her father and saw something that made her eyes widen.

"Mom...I know you're mad right now" she exclaimed, "but you gotta see what's happening to Dad!" Once again, the queen ignored her words; assuming that she was simply attempting to coerce her into showing me mercy. With extremely astonishing agility; Penny jumped away from the guards, rushed to her mother and forcefully turned her head to the side towards the king; urging her to look.

At first; the queen, naturally tried to break free from her daughter. But then, she heard soft slushing noises from her husband's face and she quickly went silent. After that, Penny smiled and showed her mother just what my slime was capable of.

As it seeped into the king's facial pores; the queen gasped as every spider bite, great and small, suddenly faded away. She then remembered that some of it had stuck to her hand, looked down and saw the same result happen. "What...How...H-How is this possible" she muttered in shock, "nothing our physicians created could've cured our bites _this_ quickly...if at all."

Penny smiled slightly and amusingly commented on how _she_ had a similar reaction, long ago. "Turns out, Slime's slime is just like Aloe Vera" she explained, "it cures all manner of cuts, bumps and bites; even my swollen spider bite." The queen was so stunned by all this, she barely could muster up a simple "wow."

When the king came too, he suddenly remembered being struck and demanded to know who it was. Almost immediately, he presumed it was me and prepared to rush me. But then, he soon noticed all his guards gawking dumbly at him.

"What are you doing just standing there like frogs on a log" he growled, "bind that monster at once!" No one dared to move, for they were far too shocked to do so. Then; Penny, with a coy grin on her face, urged her father to look at his reflection in the tide.

Naturally, he refused but the queen quickly made the same request; claiming he would "like what he would see." With a reluctant "humph," he made his way to the water and looked down. The moment he saw his reflection; King Spiderbite was in such shock, he almost stumbled over himself.

"My face...I...I'm as smooth as a young teen" he chuckled softly, while caressing the skin of his face. The guards quickly voiced their own praise of his new features. Soon after, the queen approached him and she presented her hand elegantly; like a queen would.

King Spiderbite gasped in awe at the smoothness and beauty of her hand. "My love...your hand looks so dainty yet lovely" he sighed, "just like when we first met." The couple gushed and fussed over their clear features, for a moment or so.

Then, almost instantly; the mood became rather somber and tense. "How did this happen to me" King Spiderbite demanded, "the last thing I recall was being struck by the slime boy just a moment ago." At first, Penny prepared to give the same explanation she did her mother.

But I politely stopped her and suggested we'd tell him together. After fifteen minutes of storytelling, we stood still like statues; wondering what the king and queen would do next. Finally, the king cleared his throat and approached me.

"Before anything else happens, I would just like to know...why" he asked, "why would you perform such a gesture for my daughter; who was a stranger to you, at the time?" With a soft smile, I replied in saying I wanted to do something nice; to show her some of us monsters could be good people.

Soon after that, Penny added that I saved her life from a spider attack just months ago. "He put himself in serious danger...just to save me" she said with a blissful smile, "nobody in my entire life has done that for me before." Without even realizing, I suddenly kissed Penny on the lips and proclaimed I'd do it all over again; if her safety was at risk.

When we pulled away, the king and queen just stared at us for a while. Seeing them do this made me think that they might be planning to split us up again. Then, they both smiled at me and the queen kissed me on the forehead.

"You have certainly proven yourself to be a good soul, young man" she said gratefully, "for that...you both have my blessing." I gasped loudly at her response and slowly gazed at the king, hoping he thought the same. While not as intimate as his wife, King Spiderbite showed me his own affection by patting me hard on the back.

"You've indeed proven yourself to us, dear boy" he chuckled heartily, "anyone who brings such fire out in our daughter's heart or puts themselves at great risk is a good seed in my book...even if you _are_ a monster." I chuckled softly at his response, despite being a teeny bit put off by him still seeing me as a monster. Regardless; not only did I win my girl's love, I've won that of her folks too.

Now, here I am; almost a year into my relationship with Penny and things are going great. At first, I feared that her folks only liked me because of my body (or rather...my slime.) But overtime, we all grew rather close; the king's even been teaching me how to use a sword.

At the moment, I'm prepping to head off for a big get-together Star's planning for the Spiderbites at the temple. I've been trying to tell her I'm heading out soon...but I keep losing my phone. All the same, I am so pumped for tonight.

It doesn't matter if we're partyin', going to fancy meetings with her folks or just goofing around; as long as I'm with Penny, I'm happy...and so is she

(AN: That's the end of this tale; sorry if it's a little long, folks. At first, I was thinking of splitting this up...but then I thought "all this feels more appropriate as a oneshot fic." All the same, I hope you guys will like this; hopefully this will inspire others to make other SpiderSlime fics, in the future)


End file.
